2007summer

Rover XchangeSummer 2007

� RoverXchange A Newsletter for Land Rover Aficionados

RoverXchangeThe Rover Xchange is a quarterly publication of the Solihull Society 4-Wheel Drive Club, Inc. All material in Rover Xchange, unless otherwise noted, is the property of Solihull Society and may not be reproduced without permission.

Solihull Society contactSPresident – Larry Grubbs [email protected] – David Garbs [email protected] Jenny Burris [email protected]/Membership Beth Dyson-MuskopfTrail Events Coordinator Ralph Brandt [email protected] Events Coordinator Larry Grubbs [email protected] Sponsorship Coordinators David Bennet [email protected] Ali Vali [email protected] Issues Coordinator Jim Hall [email protected] Dave Lane [email protected] Admin David Garbs [email protected] – www.solihullsociety.orgNewsletter Articles and Photos – Articles must be submitted in either Word (.doc) or text (.txt) format. Digital photos can be emailed or mailed on CD in either a JPEG, TIFF or EPS files. The articles can be submitted either via email ([email protected]) or mailed on a CD to David Lane at the following address: 106 Estack Place, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126. Materials will be returned upon request.Advertising – $25/issue or $100/year for 1/4 page ads. Payment must accompany all camera-ready ads. Make check payable to Solihull Society. Free classified ads to members. $5/issue to non-members.Club Membership – $50/year includes membership in the Colorado Association of 4-Wheel Drive Club, their newsletter, the Rover Xchange newsletter, and all the trail rides you can take! Make check pay-able to Solihull Society and mail it to the address on the back of this newsletter.

PresidentialROVINGSSummer 2007

It’s Summer baby!

Finally, that time of year the 4-wheelers like us look forward to during the winter, or at least I do… So far it has been a banter year with regards to trails. We are running most trails at near capacity averaging 10-15 trucks per trail. There are also a lot of new faces which we are always glad to see. If you see someone new on a trail you haven’t seen before please take the time to introduce yourself, who knows you might have found a lifelong friend! I would also like everyone to take some time out at the end of the long trails to thank the Trail Leaders, without them none of this would be possible. Remember they are just volunteers as is all of the staff here at the Solihull Society.

Well the National Rally is less than a month away. Hopefully everybody who’s planning on attending has signed up. But if you have procrastinated please don’t fret. You can still sign up for the rally, however there will be a small late fee assessed to your registration to cover some of the additional costs of adjusting all the venues and added T-shirts. Even with the late fee it will still be worth every penny. As of this printing one week before the deadline we have about 130 registrations, still expecting to hit over 150-175 registrations by the start of the rally. To keep up to date with the latest information available about the National Rally please continue to check in with www.landrovernationalrally.com as we are literally updating it daily with trail descriptions, venue adjustments, and other pertinent details. It’s looking like this will in fact be the largest National Rally to date! I’m pretty excited and am looking forward to seeing everybody there!

I’ll keep this one short and sweet as I think David Lane, our newsletter editor, has plenty of great articles and pictures to entertain us all. If you have any comments about the newsletter or just want to give some thanks to David for doing such a great job please don’t hesitate to do it!

Now get out and enjoy the Summer before it ends!!!

Larry Grubbs


IN THIS ISSUERoverXchange

Volume 11, Issue � Summer �007

Presidential Rovings 2Looking forward to trails, events and meetings.

April Spring Moab Trip Report 4By Jenny Burris

Hole in the Rock 6A long camping trip outside of Moab, with a little wheeling thrown in.

Membership Information 11Application, information and benefits of joining the Solihull Society.

A Letter From the Editor 14

2007 Land Rover National Rally 16And now, a word from our sponsors

Kelly Flats Trip Report 18By Mark Muskopf.

4

6

18

THE TEN BEST TOOLS OF ALL TIME

By J. William Lam, Stockton, CA Forget the Snap-On Tools truck; it’s never there when you need it. Besides, there are only ten things in this world you need to fix any car,any place, anytime.

1. Duct Tape: Not just a tool, a veritable Swiss Army knife in stickum and plastic. It’s safety wire, body material, radiator hose, upholstery, insulation, tow rope, and more in one easy-to-carry package. Sure, there’s a prejudice surrounding duct tape in concourse competitions, but in the real world everything from Le Mans-winning Porsches to Atlas rockets uses it by the yard. The only thing that can get you out of more scrapes is a quarter and a phone booth.2. Vice-Grips: Equally adept as a wrench, hammer, pliers, bailing wire twister, breaker-off of frozen bolts, and wiggle-it-till-it-falls off tool. The heavy artillery of your toolbox, Vice Grips are the only tool designed expressly to fix things screwed up beyond repair.3. Spray Lubricants: A considerably cheaper alternative to new doors, alternators, and other squeaky items. Slicker than pig phlegm. Repeated soakings of WD-40 will allow the main hull bolts of the Andrea Dorea to be removed by hand. Strangely enough, an integral part of these sprays is the infamous little red tube that flies out of the nozzle if you look at it cross-eyed, one of the ten worst tools of all time.4. Margarine Tubs With Clear Lids: If you spend all your time under the hood looking for a frendle pin that caromed off the peedle valve when you knocked both off the air cleaner, it’s because you eat butter. Real mechanics consume pounds of tasteless vegetable oil replicas, just so they can use the empty tubs for parts containers afterward. (Some, of course, chuck the butter-colored goo altogether or use it to repack wheel bearings.) Unlike air cleaners and radiator lips, margarine tubs aren’t connected by a time/space wormhole to the Parallel Universe of Lost Frendle Pins.5. Big Rock At The Side Of The Road: Block up a tire. Smack corroded battery terminals. Pound out a dent. Bop nosy know-it-all types on the noodle. Scientists have yet to develop a hammer that packs the raw banging power of granite or limestone. This is the only tool with which a “made in India” emblem is not synonymous with the user’s maiming.6. Plastic Zip Ties: After twenty years of lashing down stray hoses and wires with old bread ties, some genius brought a slightly slicked up version to the auto parts market. Fifteen zip ties can transform a hulking mass of amateur-quality rewiring from a working model of the Brazilian rain forest into something remotely

resembling a wiring harness. Of course, it works both ways. When buying used cars, subtract $100.00 for each zip tie under the hood.7. Ridiculously Large Standard Screwdriver With Lifetime Guarantee: Let’s admit it. There’s nothing better for prying, chiseling, lifting, breaking, splitting, or mutilating than a huge flat-bladed screwdriver, particularly when wielded with gusto and a big hammer. This is also the tool of choice for oil filters so insanely located they can only be removed by driving a stake in one side and out the other. If you break the screwdriver - and you will, just like Dad or your shop teacher said- who cares? It’s guaranteed.8. Bailing Wire: Commonly known as MG muffler brackets, bailing wire holds anything that’s too hot for tape or ties. Like duct tape, it’s not recommended for concourse contenders since it works so well you’ll never replace it with the right thing again. Bailing wire is a sentimental favorite in some circles, particularly with the MG, Triumph, and flathead Ford set.9. Bonking Stick: This monstrous tuning fork with devilishly pointy ends is technically known as a tie-rod-end separator, but how often do you separate tie-ends? Once every decade, if you’re lucky. Other than medieval combat, its real use is the all purpose application of undue force, not unlike that of the huge flat-bladed screwdriver. Nature doesn’t know the bent metal panel or frozen exhaust pipe that can stand up to a good bonking stick. (Can also be used to separate tie-rod-ends in a pinch, of course, but does a lousy job of it).10. A Quarter and a Phone Booth: See #1 above.

4 RoverXchange A Newsletter for Land Rover Aficionados

April 27th 2007The spring Moab trip took place on April 27/28. April 27 was a beautiful day and we met at City Market at 8:30 AM. The 11 of us that met were Mark and Terri, Paul and Phil, Dr. Dee and Charlotte, Rob and Mike, and Brian Gueck. An RR, Defender, and 3 Discos. We decided to do Poison Spider and headed out. At the trailhead amidst numerous ATV’s and some Jeeps we aired down and took off on the gorgeous morning. Little did we know that EXCITEMENT was on our way shortly.

A short way up the trail, Rob and Mike followed Mark up some steep rocks that the rest of us had bypassed. They were in the rear of the group when Mark noticed they were not on the trail. Looking back they were off the trail in a precarious position above a nasty drop off. They had suffered a blowout of 2 brake lines when attempting the steep rocks and had rolled backwards off the trail. Only Rob’s quick thinking had kept them from rolling off the edge in what would have been a potentially nasty accident. They were balanced dangerously but with Mike’s expertise, two winch lines, and two towstraps were attached. The Disco was winched back over some nasty large rocks and with a tow strap attached the vehicle was moved downtrail to a level area and emergency repairs were made. Rob and Mike then got the vehicle back to Moab with Paul following and spent all day getting parts but were able to repair it to the point they could get home but could not do any trails with the group. Mark in his Defender and Dr. Dee and Brian in their D1’s then proceeded up Poison Spider.

Mark was a great trail leader and helped spot the 2 Discos up and down rocky ledges in numerous spots. The trail was busy with Jeeps, ATV’s and bikes. Great views were seen in all directions. As Brian and Dr. Dee had not done this trail before it was very exciting for us. We had a nice lunch on a sandstone fin. This trail is filled with a hodge podge of rocks, ledges, sandy areas, and easy level dusty tracks. That night we all met for dinner at the Moab Brewery and nearly starved to death due to large crowds and slow service. None wanted to go there again for awhile.

April 28th 2007On the 28th, we once again met at City Market and decided to do Hell’s Revenge. We were joined this day by Jeff and Holly from Vail in their black Defender. Rob and Mike had talked the night before about renting a Jeep in place of their damaged Disco but did not show up. Jose from Salt Lake City also arrived and rode with Brian as did 2 of Brian’s brother-in-laws from Ogden. This day was cloudy and cool with off and on rain showers. We met at the trailhead, aired down and took off on a sandstone fin. Then we dropped down and went through the deep Lake Michigan Mudhole and headed off for a wonderful day of steep sandstone fins, hills, and sandy trails. This is a fun trail that 3 of us had not done before so with Mark, Paul, and Jose’s expertise we went through this rollercoaster trail with no problems all day. We ate lunch above Negro Bill Canyon with great views in all directions especially into Arches National Park.

Just after lunch a group of 3 Texas 1940’s era Dodge Power Wagons that had been beautifully restored showed up. These were marvelous vehicles and I wish everyone could have seen them. We were told that the finest one had been restored and modified to the tune of $100,000. Oh, to have that kind of moola!! These 3 plus Jeeps and Mark in his Defender went up and down a deep, steep sandstone gully that I do not know the name of. Mark had both of his front tires lift off at the same time on the way up at one point and that gave us viewers a scary moment. An old Willys with dual tires on the rear chugged

Trip Report: Moab Spring Tripby Jenny Burris


right up this gully like a bug too. On the way out near the trail’s end Mark went through a very tippy spot where he touched his softtop but did no damage. The rest of us fearing hardtop damage went around this spot.

We all ate Chinese that night to end a nice trip. On the way home the next day Brian and relatives did Top of the World which I greatly recommend as the view at the top is terrific. The best view at Moab. All in all this was a good trip and a lucky one for Rob and Mike who could have sustained a dangerous rollover but quick thinking saved them.


When I first saw this on the schedule I knew that this was the year we were going to finish this trail. Inspired by a trip report written by Hans in my very first copy of the RoverXchange, a buddy and myself decided to take on this epic adventure in September of 2004. There is quite a bit of history behind this trail. It was made by a Mormon expedition in the late 1800’s to find a path between Escalante and Bluff. It was only supposed to take them six weeks…it took them 6 months and through a very harsh winter. Due to the fact that I printed off the wrong trail directions (2WD trail on the west side of Lake Powell) and the only info we had was the Han’s trail report, we were forced to stop and turned back defeated. Although we did have a great trip, leaving this trail unconquered was not an option. Vacation days were then scheduled, and a thread started on the board. We didn’t expect a big turnout for this trip since a great deal of time, planning, and miles would be required, but were pleasantly surprised by the interest from the club. The meeting place was the Starbucks in Downieville at 9:30am on 5/25. We ended up with 5 trucks (Jen, myself and the pups in the DII, Anthony and Diana in the white D90, Mark Taylor in his green D90, David Garbs in his D90 on 37s, and Paul with his mother Zophia and father Stephan, in the yellow XD. With the expectation of meeting Brian Gueck in Blanding that evening to round out our party. Knowing we had a long journey ahead, we gassed up and got under way. The first stop was Glenwood Springs for a quick fuel up and back on the road. The second was a quick stop in Fruita for more fuel and of course the last chance to get real beer. The third was at the ever favorite City Market in Moab for David to grab some groceries. It was already pushing 90 degrees and we knew it was going to be a very warm few days. From there we made the final push of the day to the small town of Blanding which would be our last chance to get a hot shower and a soft bed before we hit the trail. Everyone split off to check in to their respective hotels with the agreement that we would meet for dinner at the Old Tymer Restaurant. We ran into Brian and his crew (Lee, Nathan and Melissa) at the Old Tymer and sat down for a decent meal. With introductions made, we all turned in early to get ready for the next leg of the adventure. Day two of our trip did not start out as trouble free as the first. We all met at the same restaurant for breakfast around 7:30 only to learn that David was about to lose his fourth alternator in the 90 (must be the tires). We finished breakfast and all migrated to the only auto parts store in town to see what could be done. David had already completed the GM conversion, so we were all hopeful that there might be an alternator available. But after discussing with the very helpful Napa employee, and many phone calls to neighboring towns, there was no alternator to be had. With the upcoming holiday weekend, David decided that his only hope was to abandon the quest and make the trip back to Moab to find an alternator or a mechanic that could rig up another conversion. The rest of us said our good-bye’s to David, wished him luck, and got back on the road to the trail. Around 70 miles later we were passing the trailhead on our way to Hall’s Crossing. As this was the only gas station to be found in the area, we had to bypass the trailhead by 10 miles, top off our tanks and then return. We reached the trailhead just before noon. This was a couple hours later than we hoped to start but we aired down here and began the 56 mile round trip. The first few miles of the trail are really nothing but semi-maintained dirt road. Brain said that he had heard rumors that the trail had been washed out badly and this was confirmed with a newly painted sign about a mile in that read “Extreme Washouts Ahead…Enter At Your Own Risk”, but I think this only made us more determined. A little further ahead we came upon the old Spanish fort. All that really remains is what looks like a badly stacked stone

Trip Report: Hole In The Rockby Mike Burris

Continued on Page 8


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8 RoverXchange A Newsletter for Land Rover Aficionados8

wall. This is when I made the first of many wrong turns. Luckily we only went a few hundred yards before the trail became impassible. We backtracked to the fort and found the trail again which took us down into a maze of sandy washouts that lead us to the water crossing. The last time I came through this was about 3 ft deep but it must have been very dry lately because it was now just a little mud patch in the road. A few twists and turns later we finally arrived at what we came for…slickrock! The next section was a series of small ledges on a long ramp where you could still see the grooves cut into the rock by the wagons that came through so many years ago. At the top there was a nice 3 foot ledge that dropped down to a short shelf road that ended with a pretty steep slab of slickrock that you need to do a slightly unnerving off camber turn to get onto which then dropped us back down into another sandy wash. We stopped here under the overhang of a high cliff to get out of the sun to eat our lunch. We ate lunch and took off quickly hoping to get to a camp spot that I had seen Bill Burke camp at during one of his training sessions last time I was out here (not really having any idea how far in it really was). The climb out of the wash was another very steep set of ledges that required a hard right and then a hard left at the top that left you with a two point turn on yet another off camber slab. Everyone managed to get through this very easily. I have to give kudos to Brian. Brian came driving a very close to stock DI running on 245’s with a very small lift if any. His only advantage was a rear locker and he took almost every obstacle that the rest of our heavily modified rigs took and left with very little damage to show for the long trek. His rear bumper was smiling a little when it was over and I think that made the rest of our heavily modified egos feel a little bit better. We drove on in the hot sun for the next five hours, taking every ledge, drop, climb and off camber slab the trail had to offer. There is no boredom to be had on Hole in the Rock. The trail is very long and the obstacles never stop. We did end up with one slightly hot XD and I did make another wrong turn, but luckily there were plenty of fresh tracks to follow to get us right again. At last we finally found the campsite I remembered around 6:30pm at about the 16 mile mark. It was a very nicely sheltered boxed in area with enough campsites for all of us and room for many more. We were very beat up and very tired from the long day of bouncing in truck cabs. Camps were set up quickly, a fire was started, and dinners were cooked and eaten. We chatted around the fire for a short time, all waiting for darkness so we could finally get some sleep, knowing very well that the hardest day on the trail was yet to come. The next day started around 7am. The sun was already beating down on us and it was getting hotter by the minute. Rustling and clanking could be heard from every camp as we ate breakfast and packed up for a long day on the trail. We were back under way before 8:30 and were immediately awakened with obstacle after obstacle as we drove slowly downward into the bottom of another canyon, only to find yet another maze of sandy bottom and slickrock walls. Here we found the sign declaring we had reached Grey Mesa, and the one and only time we had to attempt a recovery. We came across a fairly large step, boxed in on each side by rock walls, with loose rock covering the bottom. Most of us fought our way up with some

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difficulty. Paul’s XD seemed to be very stubborn about getting up this step. We decided to go ahead and strap him up instead of forcing breakage so far from help. Little effort if any was actually used. The XD must have realized its embarrassing situation and drove up on its own the second the smallest amount of tension was put on the strap. Thirty yards further down the boxed in wash we came across one of the more famous obstacles on the trail. It doesn’t have a name that I know of but when you see it you’ll know you’ve arrived. It’s a series of small uneven steps that take you down to one very large step that’s approx. 4 ft high. Defender departure angles seemed to be perfect for this as the rest of us listened to the familiar music of metal grinding on rock as we dragged our oversized Disco butts down the ledge. As we congratulated ourselves at the bottom we were passed by 4 or 5 Jeeps ranging from the wildly modified to a fairly stock XJ. We would end up playing tag with them for a few more miles. From here the climb to the top of the mesa began. A very tight shelf road with obstacles thrown in for fun would lead us up to the next spot where we waited for the Jeeps to push through. This is where I realized that this had been the spot I had made it to on my first trip….just over halfway…it was going to be a very long day! This was the last part of the shelf road to the top of the mesa. This one was extremely treacherous with several large shelves and V’s to navigate on the way up. Careful spotting by Anthony brought us all to the top safely. At the top, we met up with the only other people we would see on the trail, a very large group of 20 or so Jeeps from the Arizona Jeep club. We owe them a large debt of gratitude. Without the sporadic sign of tire track that they left behind, we would have gotten off track many more times than we actually did. The dirt road on the top of the mesa provided a wonderful 6 mile reprieve from the bouncing trail and also some much needed time savings. A quick stop about 2 miles in produced a very scenic view of the San Juan river. Pictures were taken and we were quickly back on the road. Another quick drop down into another canyon and then we were graced again with another mile or two of dirt road before we were soon back to the familiar bouncing, rocky trail. The next obstacle we soon found was aptly named “The Chute,” and in my opinion the hardest one on the trail. The entrance to the chute is a very steep drop with a series of off camber ledges on the left, a steep slickrock ramp on the right and a buggy line down the middle. Some chose the adventurous left side….others the slightly less adventurous but still very unnerving right, but we all made it safely without incident. Then on to the chute, which is a very long semi-steep slickrock ramp sandwiched in on either side by sloping canyon walls. This was not very difficult in itself but kind of an ominous feeling to be driving down through to the bottom of the wash. At the top of the next rise we stopped for lunch around 1pm. “How much farther?” and “Are we going to be coming back in the dark?” were the main concerns we discussed through our meal. We knew we had come in 25 miles at this point but we really didn’t know how much farther we had to go or what awaited us up ahead. Tired but determined we pushed on. The next couple of hours all blurred together with too many obstacles to count, always hoping that coming around the next corner would reveal our destination. Three very exhausting hours later we did arrive. A small flash of blue among a sea of red and brown sandstone could be seen ahead. Another 100 yards would bring us to the area know as “Cheese Camp” and the end of the trail. Two miles from there you could see a small stretch of Lake Powell with the small crack behind it known as “Hole In The Rock.” The feeling of accomplishment among our weary party was intense. Many high fives were exchanged and celebratory beverages were clinked together. We stayed for a short period of time enjoying the view, scouting the beginning of the 2 mile trail down to the lake, and discussing the massive accomplishment of the Mormon pioneers so many years ago, but knowing it was a long trek back to camp soon got us back on the trail. We made good time getting back to the bottom of the chute only to have to make a forced stop due Mark’s overheating D90 and Paul’s overheating XD. This stop also required a doggie rescue. My little pointer also decided it was too hot and found a hole in the rock filled with water and proceeded to go for a swim. The bad part was that the water level in the hole was too far down for her to get back out and too deep for her to touch bottom, so there she was stuck swimming around in circles. Luckily Jen saw her go in but couldn’t reach her. The call went out, and I’m sure what looked like a very comical rescue ensued with

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The Colorado Denver East Dealership offers Solihull Members:

The Colorado Flatirons Dealership offers Solihull Members:

The Colorado Springs Dealership offers Solihull Members:

Our members receive exclusive discounts at Denver area Land Rover dealerships.

15%service and labor is only $97.50 per hour. Regular rate is $115.

15%

15% DISCOUNT ON PARTS & LABOR

DISCOUNT ON PARTS

DISCOUNT ON PARTS

DealershipDISCOUNTS


Out of state fees - $30 per year includes discounts at our Colorado dealerships and to the rally. If member happens to be in town, BBQ would require a fee of $10 and Christmas luncheon $20.

Individual membership - $40 per year would entitle that one person to all the privileges of mem-bership. Guests would be assessed a fee to attend social events, including the Winter Holiday Luncheon.

Family membership - $50 per year would entitle that family access to the BBQ and Christmas lun-cheon in addition to all other privileges. Rally fee will be as usual, i.e. driver fee, passenger fee, and children fee. A family membership will entitle the member to bring one adult guest to the social events whether that be spouse or special friend.

All members receive the RoverXchange quarterly newsletter. Members are allowed to place small ads in the RoverXchange for personal items at no additional cost.

Membership includes immediate family, and includes . Guests 10 years old and over will be charged a fee of $10 for the Winter Holiday Luncheon.

Detach and mail with $50 to:Solihull SocietyPO Box 480864

Denver, CO 80�48-0864

membershipapplicationName _____________________________________________________________________________________

Spouse/Partner/Significant Other ____________________________________________________________

Street Address _____________________________________________________________________________

City _________________________ State ___________________ Zip _______________________________

Phone Number _______________ E-mail ___________ Website URL _______________________________

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Benefits of Joining:

Membership Information

1� RoverXchange A Newsletter for Land Rover Aficionados

by Pam HaighHello to all you Solihull Society members!

Just wanted to give “Ya-all” (that’s a southern expression!) a report as to “Where in the heck did we go!” We packed up everything we owned (and then some) and hit the road on a very snowy, messy Colorado morning on February 28th. **A very special “THANK YOU VERY MUCH” to everyone who spent those last long days helping us and making sure we got everything in the truck that we wanted to take with us. That certainly was painful for all of us and we couldn’t have done it without you!

The roads were a mess: pounding wet, sloppy snow to give us an unforgettable exit. I guess it serves us right for leaving, eh? Anyway, we made the trip in 3 days (dogs and cat and all) and arrived to a 70 degree day in Roanoke, Virginia on March 3rd. Of course it immediately became humid for unloading the Budget truck and a 12 foot trailer stuffed full. And that was our 2nd load. We also took a load back

Destination: Roanoke, Virginia

in December. But most of that was Charlie’s infamous storage locker and garage stuff. And we all know how much stuff Charlie has! But somehow we found a place for everything.

We Are enjoying being back in Virginia. Charlie is busy, to say the least, in his new job with the Hammersley Group. Land Rover is a small part of this dealership, but he’s working to make good things happen here. I, of course, have a job with a busy veterinary practice. And we’ve gotten involved again with the Blue Ridge Land Rover Club. A smaller club than Solihull Society but a fun bunch. Some Blue Ridge members will be attending the 2007 National Rally and will be reporting back to me. I have every faith in Larry to carry on in my absence and make 2007 the best rally ever! And be assured that we will attend MAR (only about 2 hours from our home) and set them straight as to the difference between MAR and the National Rally! Duh!

We do indeed miss all of you in Colorado! And miss that fabulous weather also. But it’s great to be back close to family. And we can (and will) come visit – hopefully for the 2008 National Rally in Moab.

Please keep in touch with us at our new email address [email protected].

Pam and Charlie Haigh


Gregory Chernushin Attorney at LawParkridge Center 10475 Park Meadows Drive 6th Floor Littleton, CO 80124(303) 689-0766

two people holding my ankles while I pulled my “not so bright” dog out of the hole. With my truck now smelling like wet dog, we headed back up the chutes. The top section of the chutes is where I made my only mistake of the day. Jen usually gets out of the Disco when things get a little “tippy” but I convinced her she would enjoy the ride up the chutes. Thinking that I could just crawl up the slab on the left side I proceeded to point the front end of my truck in the air, gave it some gas and the truck hopped a couple times and refused to go up the slab. At that moment my loving wife, with some rather firm words, expressed her desire for me to back the truck down and let her out. Lucky for me, the silent treatment only lasted for 30 minutes after that time calling for a hefty apology on my part. With the left line out of the question, we managed to get the rest of the trucks up the right side with Anthony giving the rest of us a “skinny pedal” lesson by bouncing up the middle. We made very good time on the way back with a quick stop for more “poser” pictures at the San Juan river. One incident to note…while coming off the mesa at a very steep ramp, Anthony seemed to have a dyslexic moment when I directed him right…he went left causing a nice 2 wheel front bumper stand with Diana in the truck. I’m sure there was also some of the same type of silence in his truck that I had experienced earlier. We managed to get back to camp before dark with enough time to cook some dinner and sit around the campfire discussing the day’s events before turning in early. Group discussions over the last couple of days made it very clear that we were all dreading the last day of our journey. Six hours back to the trailhead and at least another 10 hours home was definitely not a drive we were looking forward to. The day started at roughly the same time as before with the sun baking us out of our tents and the smell of breakfast cooking in the various camps. Knowing that time was of the essence we broke camp and were under way as quickly as possible. Again we spent the morning being abused by this never-ending trail. We knew that we were making good time but to our surprise, what had taken us six hours to drive in only took us half that to get back out to the trailhead. We had also decided earlier that we might save some time by taking the ferry across the lake and driving up through Green River or if nothing else would expand on the experience for the trip. When we reached Hall’s Crossing to gas up we learned that we only had 10 minutes before the next ferry left so off we went. When we arrived we found a long line of cars and learned very quickly that we would not make this run. We decided that the trip back around was more trouble than the 90 minutes we would have to wait for the next ferry so we stayed and let the dogs splash around in the lake. Brian had stayed down near the front of the line and managed to somehow get in on the first run of the ferry and that was the last we saw of him on this trip. The ferry trip was definitely worth the $20 fee. Just having 30 minutes to relax with the cool breeze off the lake and the beautiful scenery was enough to recharge us for the long drive ahead. We made a quick stop at the store in Bullfrog for some refreshments and then made the long drive to Green River. We had been playing phone tag with David since we left the trailhead to find out where he was in hopes of meeting up on the way back. We finally got him on the cell at this point and found out he was just coming off a trail in Moab and was about to head back home. We agreed to meet in Grand Junction for dinner. The meeting place was Applebee’s on Horizon Dr. where David caught us up on his adventures of the weekend while we were on the trail. It turned out that there was no alternator in Moab and he managed to hook up with a friend that drove him back to GJ to get an alternator and then back to Moab where he was provided room and board while he ran trails throughout the weekend. We were all glad to hear that he managed to salvage a good time of it after leaving us in Blanding. Meanwhile, Mark, Anthony, and Diana decided that another 5 hours of bouncing around in their Defenders that evening

(Conclusion on Page 19)

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Do you have stuff that you need to sell? Did you know that classified ads are free to club members? Simply send an e-mail with a description of what you’re selling along with asking price and contact information and we’ll run it for free in the RoverXchange classifieds.

Send it to: [email protected]

CLASSIFIEDS & ANNOUNCEMENTSPRESIDENT - shall preside over all membership and Executive Committee meetings and be present at all events when possible. He shall be the executive officer and shall have the duty to carry out the policies and decisions of the Board of Directors.

VICE PRESIDENT - shall, in the absence of the President, serve in that capacity. He shall also serve as a Parliamentarian and perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Board of Directors.

SECRETARY - shall keep and preserve all records and minutes of the meeting of the regular membership and the Board of Directors, shall keep a file system of membership and shall receive and answer all general corre-spondence pertaining to the organization.

TREASURER - shall keep accurate and complete records of the funds and accounts of this organization and shall collect all dues and maintain a record thereof. He shall make only such disbursements from the funds of the organization as are directed by the Board of Directors and Article VII hereof.

Ballots shall be issued to each membership at check in.

A Letter From the EditorWell, we are ramping up to the National Rally. Have you made your reserva-tions yet? Have you booked your hotel room? If not, you must be camping. Last report we have is that all the hotels, motels, and dog houses are booked. Have you registered for the rally itself? At time of print, only 28 days left. Enjoy the newsletter. I have been trying to make some astetically pleasing changes. Trying to place more photos and more stories. If you have anything to which you would like to see in the newsletter, please send them to me. We are always looking for content. I hope to see you all at the National Rally.Dave [email protected]


Bill Burke’s4-Wheeling America970-858-3468 … [email protected]

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"...The learning started before the first turn of a key and continued right up until our goodbyes. Simply put, Bill is an outstanding instructor...he

sets the standard by which all others must be judged! An unexpectedbut much appreciated benefit of our time together was Bill's encyclopedic knowledge

of the environment around us."Vanoff Family. VA - 2006 Moab Private Training

"Every once in a while in life you comeacross someone who is just plain gifted in their vocation. You are truly one of

those people. I've never been so engaged in the learning process as I was at ...On the Road... trainin..." Peter Vollers, VT, 2002

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Bill knows what he's doing. And I do." Bruce Davis, AL, 2005

www.bb4wa.comWe hold BLM & USFS permits to operate on public lands.


We at the Solihull Society would like to thank our Premier Sponsors for their continual support of the rally.


Trip Report: Kelly Flats by Mark MuskopfOn June 3rd, 18 trucks made the trek north to run Kelly Flats. The vehicle make-up varied from stock to heavily modified trucks consisting of 9 Discovery Is and Discovery IIs, 3 Defenders, 3 Range Rover Classics, 2 LR3s and 1 Jeep. The weather was great and the scenery superb. Multiple lines were tried as the trucks proceeded up Heart Attack Hill without real incident. The real entertainment of the day started when everyone rolled up to the Chutes. Anthony in his D90 ST made quick work of the obstacle with only minor body damage. Next up was Kyle in his ‘customized’ RRC. Kyle quickly showed his energetic and enthusiastic driving style. The line chosen, ‘careful’ spotting by Ali, along with ample skinny pedal resulted in Kyle landing on his side. The truck was put back on it’s wheel with a strap and manual labor. A little winch action was required to properly orient the RRC Special, but after that Kyle proceeded through the rest of the obstacle with spirits non-the-less dampened. [Considering Kyle’s recent propensity to do acrobatics with his truck and the nice job he did fabricating the roll cage of this soft top RRC, one has to wonder how long it will take for him to make a complete external skeleton for the truck and stop typing up wanted ads each week on the forum for body panels]. Next up was Ali and his RRC. He chose a more delicate style of driving to negotiate his way through the obstacle. With just a little rock-to-metal contact he was through. Garbs was next and made it look easy with the short wheel-base of his D90 SW with 37” MTRs and rugged sliders. Scott in his DiscoII climbed up the first part of the obstacle with a nice wheel-stand and subsequent soft positioning of the truck’s front wheels back on the ground. He made it through with just a little rubbing (“Rubbin’s racing”- Days of Thunder) to the driver’s rear quarter panel. Last up was Jimmy in his highly modified DI. With the right line and ample use of his sliders he too was through with just a little ‘rubbin’. The rest of the contingent having taken the by-pass with their vehicles took a seat in the rocks to enjoy the show. Everyone had a great time, and served as a reminder that anyone interested in running trails with the club, should come on out and enjoy themselves, regardless of their type of Rover, modifications, or driving experience.


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was going to be too much to bear and they were going to stay the night in GJ. We said our goodbyes and our now small group of just three set out on the last leg. The trip over the hills was mostly uneventful, with a quick stop in Avon for fuel we arrived home around 11:30 that night. I know that I am not alone in stating that this is by far my new favorite trail and is truly an epic adventure that I recommend everyone experience. It was not only the trail that made this a fun trip but also the great group of people we shared it with and we hope to make this journey many times again in the years to come.

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Solihull SocietyPo Box 480864Denver, co 80248-

2007summer

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